A Schoolbag Destroyed

“Forest cities tend to be powered by Life Magic. Children as young as six months old already begin to manifest their first claw nail. This is why even one-year-olds can use the arrays in the cities with only mild difficulty.”

—Robin Benz

The Vine of Vera stretches as far as it can until it quivers with the effort. Roo kneels to the ground and lays his palm flat against the grass.

“C’mon Vera, you can do it,” he coos, patting it comfortingly. His hand glows a little brighter and our platform rises a bit higher. A little laugh slips from my lips— how cute! Mirei pinches her bottom lip between a thumb and a forefinger, pondering something. Then, her eyes light up and she flops onto her belly.

“Here’s a hug, Vera! Y—“

Instantly, the vine shoots up the last couple meters and levels with a thick tree branch. A small staircase is carved into its body. This time, a full laugh bubbles up my throat. I nearly fall onto my knees from the force of it.

“Vera…really likes…hugs!” My words are cut off by my own laughter. I feel Roo’s gaze prickling my neck, so I turn my head to look at him. Mirth glows in his eyes and amusement arches his eyebrow. Wordlessly, he stands up and takes a step toward me. My laughter dies away with each step he takes, keeping that amused expression. Just before the air between us floods with that alluring floral scent, he dips to the side and slips behind me, walking onward.

He mounts the first step on the staircase.

“Are you two going to follow or not?”

My heart thuds in my chest. I don’t know why I’m so tense. Perhaps it was the way his gaze never left mine, only breaking away until he was behind me.

I clear my throat. I ought to get over it. So, I haul Mirei up, grab her hand, and ascend the staircase close behind Roo wordlessly. With us safely on the branch, Vera sinks back down to its home in the land while Roo, Mirei and I rise to see the city of trees up close. After the last stair, we pad across flat wood. It would appear that the tree branch has been cut horizontally so that people can walk on it without worry. I would have been terrified regardless, but thankfully, there are ornate railings lining the edges of the road. They are made of strong stone and sculpted flowers local to this forest. Besides these, there are real flowers of many exotic varieties laced within the fence bars.

The road is very long, but I can make out a tall, arched doorway at its end leading into the tree trunk. White ribbons and teal brocade twist festively around the carved arch, inviting the people ahead of us inside with a flourish.

“Everything is so colorful,” I say, incredulous. I never see this much decoration where I live, outside of celebrations that is.

It turns out, there is a celebration to be had in this city. Roo responds, “Yes, these are the colors of the Chekagi Tree. We colloquially call it the Chekagi district.”

I’ve noticed this before, but it seems sometimes the translator magic Roo placed upon us can’t translate certain words. For example, the malcinas from earlier. I wonder, does Chekagi mean something specific in Roo’s language? I’m dying to ask, but I resist. I don’t need to be any closer to Roo than absolutely necessary. This world is temporary, and forming an attachment will just make our departure tougher.

To be honest, I don’t want to get close to people for any reason. Anyone outside Mirei and my parents are difficult to trust. And even if they are trustworthy, I dread the idea of scarring them for life with my inevitable death.

I once did this to someone unintentionally. I vowed to never see or contact them again. I remember my first day of school, I nearly thought the class president was this person. Thank God it wasn’t.

My stream of thoughts come to a stop once we arrive at the arch. Roo halts his steps, so Mirei and I do so as well. He turns around fully, grabs our hands, and then falls backward! A scream tears from my throat as we fall with him, but instead of it being a wooden floor, it’s a tunnel leading straight downward. The wind whistles in my ears along with Mirei’s excited shrieking. I scrunch my eyes closed in fear.

“Haruki, open your eyes.”

It’s Roo’s low voice. I shake my head— how are we still falling?!

“Brother, look!” Mirei gasps. Roo’s hand on my wrist squeezes once, urging me. Perhaps it's some long suppressed daring trait of mine that pushes me to open my eyes, but in that moment, anticipation surges in my stomach and I do. I see a glint of a green array before we pass through it and the scenery changes. No longer are we inside a tree trunk, but in the air, soaring high in a sky possessing three suns. Mirei squeals beside me, holding on for dear life. We continue to plunge downward, straight toward a wooden bridge crossing over a lazy river. It grows bigger and bigger, along with my panic.

“Roo? ROO?!” I shout. We’re seconds away from smashing on that bridge and dying!

He doesn’t answer me, though; he only looks right at me, grinning in that smug way of his—chestnut hair whipping right into mine.

“AAAAAH!”

Just when I think it’s all over, another green array spawns a few feet from the ground and, once we touch it, we bounce once into the air and flop onto the bridge’s planks.

I’m speechless. We lay in a frazzled heap, Mirei and I gasping for air. Water gently sloshes nearby and bugs chitter around us, fascinated by this group of stinky, forest-dirtied specimens. Once one of them flutters its wings against my neck, I flinch and screech, jostling Roo and Mirei.

“Ow— brother, you elbowed me!”

“Relax, Haruki.”

Who would relax in this situation?! I scream exactly this to the heavens above.

Roo releases a hearty cackle from the pits of his stomach. “You Takahashi siblings are amazing! I’ve seen toddlers do better than you on their first array ride!”

I snap my face toward his and scowl at him, glowering. “We’re not from this world, in case you don't remember.”

Roo wipes a fake teaser with the tip of his sharp nail. “Oh, I remember alright. It’s just you and Mirei’s faces—“ And there he goes, busting out in another fit of laughter.

I sigh heavily and push the two of them off my body. After checking to see both my shoes are still on, I look around for my school bag. I don’t see it on the bridge or the gravel path leading farther into a small village. Could it be in the lazy river?

I dash to the bridge’s railing, look down, and grimace. Yep, it’s there, floating in despair as little fish with bulbous orange heads nibble at the zippers.

“My notes…” I spent a lot of time writing down exactly what Sasagawa Sensei said in class. Depression sinks in my gut. Mirei pads over and peers up at me.

“Poor brother.”

“Poor Haruki,” Roo adds.

I seriously consider grabbing that ridiculously long hair and pulling it.